Supporting Event - Italian Design Day

This year's edition of Italian Design Day will be held on 1 March in 100 cities all over the world and focus on the relationship between design and sustainability as expressed by 100 "Italian design ambassadors" - architects, designers, academics, business people, critics, communicators - who will make presentations to people who work in the field and enthusiasts of the best of our industrial design. These ambassadors will illustrate the history and the new tendencies of a sector whose accomplishments and planning skills have produced outstanding and unique results. The theme selected for 2018 is Design and Sustainability – "Broken Nature". Sustainability policies are now central to both governments and the private sector, and Italy, the undisputed world leader in design, will present high-quality ideas, projects and solutions to encourage international debate prior to the 22nd Triennale di Milano in 2019.

The Italian Design Day is made possible by the team set up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in association with the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism, the Triennale di Milano, the Italian Trade Agency (ICE), the Milan Salone del Mobile, the Association of Industrial Design (ADI), the Fondazione Compasso d'Oro and the Altagamma Foundation. The project involves all public and private players who represent high-quality Italian design, including the world of business, through Confindustria, and the training sector, for a total of fifty stakeholders including associations, federations, universities and design academies.

Following its successful debut in 2017, which involved about 20,000 professionals of the industry in the numerous activities organised, this is the second edition of the event and represents the climax of a year-long process, with the Foreign Ministry involved on several fronts: the promotion of young and emerging Italian designers; support for the Salone del Mobile; cooperation with the Triennale di Milano.

On the occasion of the second Italian Design Day the Italian Cultural Institute, the Consulate General of Italy in Hong Kong and Macau, the Italian Chamber of Commerce, the Hong Kong Design Institute, the University of Hong Kong and PMQ will organize lectures and networking events held by Italian designer Giulio Vinaccia.